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Out of context: Reply #28
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- DaveO0
Alright here we go. Watched last night, at home on my average setup.
**Light spoilers and controversial opinions below**
Overall I actually agree with both the positive and negative commentary.
I think its both great and flawed at the same time and someone on here said that it might have worked better as a TV series and I think thats a super idea.
I left it feeling like i'd not seen enough of the world they created and to be honest even though there's lots of exposition, I still wanted to know more about the future world and how that actually would play out.
BULL
Concept was awesome, really good spin on espionage genre stuff and complex enough that you could grasp what was going on but still kept you thinking after the credits started. I know Nolan had been rumoured to make a Bond movie but i think he's already made two so far. There was a shred of environmental morality in it that I liked too, the idea that we'd ruined the world and it needed to be fixed...Action was great, felt tangible and not too magical / impossible. If all of that was in camera then you can see where that budget went, all of it on the screen.
Location work was amazing, that Amalfi coast shit had my travel itch at full tilt.
Score was good, a a bit annoying over the long dialog scenes but I can imagine it really kicks in a theater.
Reverse / Inverse effect was a bit daft at times but when there was action running forwards and smoke / particles going backwards it was really effective
John David Washington's wardrobe, fucking incredible.
BEAR
I'd say it moved so fast that some of the concept / lore got lost. When Inception came out i think everyone scoffed at the Ellen / Elliot Page character who was basically an exposition vehicle, but i think his films need that early on so everyone can understand the rules and the stakes.
The dialog. So cheesy in parts, and lines that look okay on the page came over really clumsy. Not sure we needed two comic relief characters (JDW and Pattinson).
Yes Nolan we know you can get Michael Caine. He didn't sound his best in this, maybe you should let him retire.
I'd say there was a bit too much heavy action for me, I would rather have had some more dialog that built out the world and explored it.
There also wasn't much of an emotional resonance in this that his other films had. Interstellar (the idea of aging against your kids and the relationship with them), and inception (not being able to let go of your past mistakes) had way more in this and while i thought it was melodramatic at the time, i miss it.
I didn't care at all for the female lead or her son. Some of his other movies have had string female characters, this one was a bit blokey 'damsel in distress' and felt SO trite in 2020.
Does Russia get mad when all western movies portray them as mental rich tyrants? Or are they cool with it?
*****
I'm happy to eat my words above on the movie but I think its sad that Nolan rejected the streaming / TV idea. It'd be a waste if they didn't do a sequel to this or expanded the universe some more.
I'd love it if there was a budget cap on his next project to get back to some of that Memento / Insomnia kind of feeling. His ideas on humanity are so clever and thoughtful and they get drowned out in blazing action scenes for the spectacle of it all.
The movie industry is really missing a slate of well made, grown up human drama pieces at the moment and i feel like he could do something ace in that genre. His first film 'Following' was this great paranoid Dostoevsky-esque piece that is so effective – imagine what he could do with a limited scope.
4/5 popcorns for me. I'll definitely be rewatching and i can imagine it'll be rewarding to go over it again and take in some of the more complex elements with a base of knowledge. Top thursday night!
- RE: Russians being stereotypes. The English are similarly stereotyped as baddies in US movies. I'm fine with it, because they make good fucking films. LOLHayzilla